The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1887-10-04

moment considered an unreasonable protest,
when he stepped forward and, placing his
hands on my shoulders, actually bore me out
out OF the door and down the steps, He fol-
lowed me and drew pistol.
of you will violate your agreement" he al
most shouted, Eve must resort to my own Sug-
gestion. Are you armed?"
In my irritable state this proved too much
Tor me, and drew my own weapon, determin-
ed to give him satisfaction, but at sight of the
firearms the two women came headlong out of
the coach and ran between us.
For heavens sake, gentlemen" ono of
then, screamed, don't tght--at least not
here" she added in calmer tone, ''if YOU
have any regard for ladies, 80 farther away"
Their tender solicitude touched me so deeply
that forgot my anger and laughed. l threw
away my pistol.
"You are foolish Jack" said I, ''this is one
phase Of the case that had not considered. 1
am forced to admit that am wrong"
lie turned and climbed into the coach with
out word and L walked away, a good deal
chagrined when L grew calm enough to reflect
that had really placed myself in false
position. spent the succeed
ing twenty-four hours in a state bordering
on madness, and continued my journey next
day with feeling akin to despair. With
misgiving that grew out of my experience at
New Orleans, made my way to the City tav-
ern, merely intending to assure myself that
Captain Sullinger had not left there also.
The young man i'll charge of the tavern bar
informed me that Captain Sulinger and his
daughter had left the house three days before
with the intention, to the best of his knowl-
edge, of going on board the Walrus, which was
advertised to sail for Liverpool.
"Merely to visit her?" 1 asked, with deep
misgiving.
"rhey were booked as passengers"
"And is the vessel gone?'' gasped.
"She sailed the day they joined, sir
Astonishment and despair showed them
selves SO plainly in my face that he hastily
poured out n tumber of brandy and passed it
to me over the bar. | declined the liquor and
asked him if Vandergrift was stopping at the
tavern?
'No person OF that name is guest here at
present.
Did Captain or Miss sullinger leave note
for me? my name is Castlemon."
mo note has been left to that address, sir,
but-ah, yes, note was left for another gen.
tleman-for the gentleman you mentioned, in
fact-and he returned it to me after reading
it. with the request that / give it to Mr.. Cas-
tlemon, if he should CALI
He took the note from behind one of the
bottles on the bar and gave it to me.
The note was signed by Miss Sullinger. 1t
repeated the reasons formerly given for leay-
in a note at all, and stated that it was not
possible that the emergency before referred to
could exist any longer, since they were leaving
the country. Their destination was supposed
to be Liverpool.
The conviction was forced upon me that
Miss Sullinger loved one of us; which, it was
of course impossible that she should indicate.
Is 1t strange that L should feel an inward con-
seriousness that was the one. No doubt Van
degrift was quite as sanguine. One of us GER
talnly-both OF, us perhapS-muSt suffer, let
the chase end as it might. Was she I'M
maidenly in thus strewing the pathway Of
her fight with these missives which conld
scarcely fail to produce the result
that they had produced? She
was no coquette---I could swear to
that. She had been kept from childhood, on
sea or on shore, like bird shut up in cage.
She was wholly untutored in the ways of the
world and if the notes meant anything they
meant that she had chung to the one possibly
bright experience in her life and had done it
in the only way that suggested itself to her
and without any regard to the proprietieS, of
which she knew nothing.
Not everybody, perhaps. will approve of my
determination to follow her to England at a
period when q voyage across the ocean was a
serious affair, and when the issue, to say the
least, was very obscure; but those who have
been in love-deeply, / was about to say, but
who was ever in love any other way?-and
those who have felt the excitement of stern
chase, which is by all accounts long chase,
will extend their heartfelt sympathy and APP
prevail. 30 JIs
,a The suspicion which had ntruded itself in
New Orleans also began to assume alarming
proportions in the light of the latest hegira. L
o found il unpleasant to entertain such q suspic-
II lOl dStiiSb Tue olu captain, DuU l. COulu llOG
help remembering now that had often de-
tected alfurtiveness i'll his manner that had
not taken the trouble to speculate upon before.
If it was as had begun TO suspect, a third
and powerful motive was added to the others.
Margaret was to be rescued from criminal or
mailman.
did not hesitate but sought the docks at
once and began an anxious search for a vessel
that was bound to England within a reaSOna-
10 AZ IL. A. 4la
cuddy-hole of cabin and skipper who de-
clared his Willingness to be eternally Blasted
rather than accommodate passenger. He de-
clared that he could only get into the cabin him
self when his wife was i'll her berth, state
ment that viewed in more credulOus spirit
when I saw Mistress Pressy squeeze herself
up the after cOmpanion-way, and emerge
therefrom with the effect of closing the entire
view forward to my vision. In addition to the
objection on the score of room, the owner had
issued explicit orders against carrying passen-
gers, and | was in despair until the captain Of
fered me the hospitality of the forecastle, or
in other words invited me to become one of
his crew.
The prospect was distasteful in the extreme
since affiuence had for some time kept me
above the necessity of shipping before the
mast, and had fostered some fastadious no.
tons, but presently became satisfied that |
must continue the chase that way or wait in
definitely for another opportunity | went
ashore with the skipper to sign articles, and
above the space which was required to fill
with my own name I beheld "John Vande-
grift" in bold caligraphyl (churography?)
He had signed as mate. For an instant /
hesitated TO sign, the memory Of my last meet
ing with Jack rising up before me, but upon
reflection, the very fact that his name was
there furnished me the most powerful motive
for signing my own.
/ went abord and an hour later Jack fol-
lowed with the remainder of the crew. He
appeared more vexed than surprised at my
presence as l could see by his face, for he gave
no sign Of recognition, being apparently de-
termined not TO forget ship etiquette even in
the case of an old and familiar comrade like
myself. / realized that the demon of jeal-
ousy had destroyed all the brothery feeling
he had once entertained for me- and that
hencef0rth he was to stand in the light of an
unfriendly, If not positively vindictive rival
toward me.
We cast off from our mornings almost inn
mediately after had come aboard with the
skipper, and were crawling slowly down the
bay with scarcely perceptible breeze abeam,
when boat was seen to leave the wharf and
pull rapidly toward us with the evident inten-
ton of boarding. So slowly did we move
that the captain did not consider it necessary
to even huff into the wind to accommodate the
boatmen. 1t proved to have in charge pack
age Of delayed mail and the package was
thrown over the rail, while the boat was headed
toward the wharf again without having done